Tucson.
Tucson's hotel scene rewards going small — Loews Ventana Canyon and the JW Marriott Starr Pass dominate the resort map but the independents are better. The Arizona Inn (1930, on the National Register, Lazaro family-owned for four generations), Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch, Tanque Verde Ranch (a working cattle ranch since 1868), the Lodge on the Desert.
Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch
A 1929 girls-school-turned-guest-ranch — 70 casitas in the Catalina foothills.
Tanque Verde Ranch
A working cattle ranch since 1868 — 74 casitas on 60,000 acres of Saguaro National Park.
The Arizona Inn
Built 1930, on the National Register, Lazaro family-owned for four generations — 95 casitas on 14 acres.
White Stallion Ranch
Family-owned since 1965 — 41 rooms on a 3,000-acre working ranch, all-inclusive horseback rides.
The Lodge on the Desert
An adobe-walled compound from 1936 — 103 casitas, in-town, family-owned.